Though he was a fairly private person, Mike "MZ" Moszczynski, fellow Glyos maker and creator/owner of the Zullbeast and Zullen, was one of the most generous people I've ever known. His sudden passing last month hit like a freight train for his family and all of us. He was just shy of 60 years old.
I met Mike MZ online in early 2011, after he'd reached out about some of my older work, particularly the Rechlen and Aves series. His enthusiasm and genuine interest were the real deal, and we started to correspond regularly. Mike would go on to reveal his deep love of the classic OSM toyline, created by Mel Birnkrant, and the subsequent Four Horsemen relaunch of the line in 2010, which had led Mike to Glyos. We talked about how much the OSM had impacted the both of us, opening up new creative pathways and the desire to one day potentially build our own worlds. Mike really had an incredible drive to create, which became more and more evident as we continued to connect.
It wasn't long before Mike started sending packages up here, each one filled with extraordinary customs, painted and built with true talent pulled directly from his surprisingly wild imagination. I tried to return the gestures by hiding old hand cast Rechlen and Aves figures in his outgoing packages after we'd have a launch. What started out as some fun gift giving quickly escalated, with Mike sending up a complete vintage OSM Series 1 set, as a gift. To say I was shocked is beyond an understatement, but the day I opened that box will never be forgotten. I still have them stored in that very box they arrived in, adorned with Mike's writing, reflecting his dry sense of humor. It was the same box I'd sent to him earlier, so my message to him was also scrawled on the inside flap. A small testament to the early days of our friendship. I'm so thankful that I held onto that beat up old box.
Eventually in 2015, Mike decided that he wanted to get into the production end of things, so we worked together with our mutual great friend Marty Hansen (prototyping/casting), ace sculptor Rudy Garcia (sculpting) and at that time fellow upcoming Glyos "maker in the making" Pat Bussey (product art) to concept and create what would come to be known as the vinyl Zullbeast. Mike's endless love for all things cosmic and creepy really came through with the Zullbeast, and quickly rolled directly into the development of the PVC Zullen project at the end of 2015. For the Zullen, Mike and I imagined that a collective of alien races had stolen technology from across the other Glyos "lines" and worked in the background to manipulate the events of those other universes, sort of like a counterintelligence to the Delphi. Mike was all about collaborating and exploring together, and that was the case for as long as I knew him.
Before Mike passed away, we'd been working on his latest project, which we called the "Zulloid". This one began in 2019 and went through some deep iterations over the last 4 years, continuing development right through the heart of the pandemic. As always, Mike stayed dedicated to seeing the project through, despite a variety of challenges, frustrations and delays. Once again, we worked with Marty, Rudy and Pat, and soon welcomed the great Anthony Coffey on board to take on digital sculpting duties. The Zulloid served as my first real working project with Anthony, who has gone on to sculpt many subsequent Glyos projects. Once again, another new branch of creative collaboration grown thanks to Mike's desire to keep making things.
In my last conversation with Mike, which was literally the day before he moved on, he asked that we keep his world alive, and carry on the legacy of all that he'd worked on. I promised him that we would do so, and that his memory would live on with each and every figure that he brought to life, through his love of creating and the love he forever showed his friends.
We miss you Mike, and we won't let you down.
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